Stranded Together
by nuko.writer
Summary: They shared an infinite hell together and had come to an understanding yet when the resolution was within reach, forces beyond their knowledge and understanding had interfered. Now they find themselves stranded in different realities. Accompany them as they travel through realities that have lost sense and logic in order to find the world 'he' called home.
1. The god and the High school student

**Salutations! Here I present one of the many ideas that had been plaguing my brain for quite a while now and had been preventing me from actually working on my main story...**

**Hence I present to you, a story of Kamijou Touma and Othinus. A rather light hearted one that tries to keep the general feel and vibe of the original light novel. I would like to clarify that my knowledge of the Indexverse is _far_ from perfect and so I can and will make mistakes so go easy on me.**

**The story will mostly be lighthearted and comedic**

**Disclaimer: I do not own To Aru Majustu no Index, both old and new testament, as well as the many wonderful characters it has.**

**==[Stranded Together]==**

Kamijou Touma, known as the imagine breaker or 'that level 0', had been put into many strange and even dangerous situations before. Whether it was being gassed from his own room and pushed off a plane, having to fight in a war and crossing the snowy tundra of Russia, fighting enemies that could only be considered monstrosities, or the many unfortunate and accidental incidents that labelled him as a pervert, the existence called Kamijou Touma could confidently boast that there were very few things that could actually unnerve him too much at this point.

It wasn't arrogance of course. He was still fully aware of his limitations, still fully aware that he aside from the right hand he had that could dispel both the power of god and that of the devil, he was still an ordinary high school student. He simply felt that considering the stuff he had gone through he was at the very least confident that he could keep a calm enough mind in most if not all tense situations.

After all, if he was able to survive the incident with a certain scantily clad magic god that involved being plunged into an infinite hell that could easily destroy one's sanity and be made to experience death in almost every possible way imaginable, then it was a given that very few things in life could daunt you.

Of course that should've been the case. However something to note is that the universe and Kamijou Touma had never really seen eye to eye on certain things and hence the universe had gone out of its way to immediately prove him wrong.

"Hmm… is this what the mortals usually use to entertain themselves? This is rather entertaining"

The aforementioned scantily clad magic god commented as she busied herself with the PSP in her hands. She displayed an unusual amount of concentration. It had only been a short time since Kamijou had introduced her to modern forms of entertainment and to his surprise Othinus had been able to learn it fast without issue. Even the game she was playing right now was only briefly explained to her an hour or so ago and yet she was already able to grasp how it's played.

If he was being slightly more honest, he was hoping that the magic god was the kind of character that was hopeless with modern technology and would cutely puff her face out after failing to understand its workings but that was just him being presumptuous. He didn't really know where that thought was based on but it was certainly not from the girl who carried 103,000 grimoires in her head, no certainly not. He would never admit to it even if held on bite point.

"To think this mere welp would get in the way of my battle with the wyvern… how foolish! From here on I vow to destroy every single one of your kind that I lay my sights on!"

She shouted out passionately as she ignored the large monster she was supposed to hunt and promptly focused on the bull-like monster that had interrupted her battle. Kamijou was sure that Othinus was being completely serious with that vow.

"O-Othinus…"

He called out her name nervously. He was happy she was enjoying herself but if he didn't do anything about the current situation then he was sure he wouldn't survive the aftermath.

"What is it? I'm busy trying to kill this Bullfango monster. I had spent too much time gathering and exploring so I need to finish this and that wyvern off soon or I'll run out of time"

She replied with a hint of annoyance. Othinus was the type that poured a lot of effort when she got into doing something regardless of what it is so even playing games were serious business to her. He needed to thread carefully and word his next plead properly. Else he might incur the wrath of the only thing that was preserving his life at the moment.

"W-well… I'm glad you're enjoying yourself and all but… could you please get off me?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

He could feel the accusing stares of those around him. Birdway, Lessar and Index had remained silent through the whole situation, not offering even a single comment. Kamijou Touma's finely honed instincts told him that the only reason he wasn't being killed yet with bites, stabs and spells was because of the Magic God sitting in his lap playing video games.

For those that had somehow glossed over that particular detail, it shall be repeated in bold and italics. _**The magic god, One Eyed Othinus, the leader of Gremlin, the perceived enemy that was supposedly the final boss that they were planning to face was sitting on his lap playing games while wearing something that covered less skin that would most certainly qualify it as a fetishistic costume used by the most deprived perverts.**_

It was a death flag. He was painfully aware of that fact. He momentarily wondered what he could possibly do to placate the three goddesses of death that were leveling him with a glare that could kill lesser beings, though when he had taken a closer look at Lessar's face it was more like she was frozen in shock while staring at him. He was actually afraid of removing Othinus from his lap but every second she was on him was another second they would spend punishing him.

"Be quiet for a bit Touma, I'm still rather unused to the controls and am pressed for time so I need to concentrate on defeating the wyvern in order to achieve victory. I will not allow that bullfango monster, whom I've already slaughtered, to achieve its purpose of preventing me in completing the hunt"

Othinus calling him by his first name had made the situation severe. Index had let out a small growl, Birdway's glare turned ice cold while Lessar seemed to have started turning white and showing cracks. None of those girls were Japanese but all three of them were well versed in Japanese culture. Being called by the first name without any honorifics was a sign of closeness.

It was at that moment that Kamijou Touma understood that his fate was sealed. If he could see flags that he raised like a certain anime he saw once, then he would certainly have an ominous black flag popping up on his head. He sorely wished that his right hand was also capable of destroying those flags. It would've made his life so much easier.

"Ohh… you truly have went above and beyond my expectations _Kamijou Touma_. To think that despite the absurd amount of surveillance by different factions on you, you were still able to _**somehow, without being noticed,**_ charm that one on your lap. Tell me, exactly how did you manage such an _**amazing**_ feat?"

Birdway was absolutely frigid. Her voice was cold and emotionless, her face blank yet she kept a small polite smile. It was a sign that she was already beyond furious at the current situation and was trying to gather information in order to punish him appropriately without inducing damage on her side.

She was now full on magical cabal boss mode.

He was quite sure that Othinus noticed that sheer amount of animosity being directed towards her but her being the queen of ignoring the atmosphere meant she did not do anything as a response. To the magic god, anything that doesn't pose a threat didn't require even an iota of her attention especially when she was absorbed with doing something.

If Kamijou could find a convenient wish granting machine like a certain holy cup, he would wish for the magic god to become more considerate of him.

"A-Ah w-well…"

He tried to find the words to explain the situation but was failing badly. If he really were to speak the absolute truth then it was highly likely that _even if they did believe him, it would be detrimental to their_ _purpose._

He felt rather guilty that about not telling any of them. He knew that despite how Birdway was acting right now, she was _still giving him the benefit of the doubt_. She was giving him a chance to explain himself before arriving at a conclusion and taking action. Birdway had always been a logical person and hence she knew that there _should_ be a good and logical explanation for the current situation but she is unable to determine exactly _what_ it is.

"Touma"

Othinus' calm voice sounded serious as she called his name as if perfectly reading his thoughts, she shifted her position so that she was sitting sideways on his lap in order to give him a meaningful look. Kamijou was aware of what she wanted to convey and stopped himself from explaining their situation.

'_Don't. It is best that you stop now and keep your distance.'_

He briefly wondered exactly how much time the two of them had already spent in each other's company considering the fact that they could pretty much read each other's intention through body language, silent eye contact and through the inflection of their speech.

"So…? Where is the explanation we have so _kindly and patiently_ been waiting for?"

Birdway continued her glare slowly reaching negative 273 Kelvin. Kamijou needed to say something, anything that could be used to placate the girl capable single-handedly destroying the whole of District 7 without even breaking a sweat.

'_Think! Think Kamijou Touma! What can I say to avoid the worst possible outcome?! Surely there's something I can do! Hurry up brain, I can sense Index entering super beast moooode!'_

Despite his desperation he drew a blank. No matter how he looked at it there was nothing he could do by himself in order to resolve the situation peacefully.

Hence he did something that the old Kamijou Touma was unable to do before.

He asked for help.

'_Othi-chan! Othi-sama! Othi-aemon! Help me, please!'_

He made eye contact and silently pleaded to the magic god. Their currently relationship was such that they needed no spell or other means to converse. They just knew each other that well.

'_Really now, you require my help in resolving this situation?'_

Othinus replied with a slight raise of her left eyebrow while flipping the switch on the side of the PSP to put it in sleep mode.

'_Yes magic god-sama, please help this ordinary and helpless high school student resolve the current situation!'_

Kamijou replied by widening his eyes. He didn't realize that the girls currently observing him were already shaking in fury.

'_I understand'_

Othinus replied by closing her eyes and nodding. For a brief moment, Kamijou Touma felt like everything was going to be okay, that District 7 and his body would be able to survive the current situation unscathed, that Othinus would actually do something to resolve the situation perfectly.

Of course he was wrong.

Othinus placed the PSP on the table and shifted her position so that she was straddling him, her face close to his own and her arms wrapped around his neck. The smug grin on her face and her mischievous eyes told Kamijou exactly what she was about to do.

'_Don't' _

Kamijou glared at Othinus.

'_You told me to resolve it' _

Othinus' grin became wider.

'_Not in this way!'_

Kamijou's glare turned pleading and desperate.

'_Too late'_

Othinus' became ecstatic after seeing his expression.

"Touma… you shouldn't bother with the peanut gallery. After all… you already have me don't you?"

She spoke sweetly and sensually while affectionately caressing his cheek. Drawing her body closer and resting her head on his chest as she tightly embraced him.

'_YOU EVIL WIIIIIIITTTCCCHHH!'_

Kamijou could swear he heard glass breaking.

"**TOUUUUMMMAAAAAAA!"**

A scream that would put every battle cry ever uttered in existence could be heard as Index entered super beast mode and attempted to lunge for a bite of his head. Many explosions soon followed.

**==[Stranded Together]==**

_Half an hour later..._

"Sometimes I wonder if you're a masochist. It would certainly explain how you were able to last and endure through the things I've put you through"

Othinus commented she looked at the view below. They were situated at the rooftop of one of the buildings in District 7 after having escaped the combined wrath of Index, Birdway and Lessar. Kamijou had never been felt so cornered before in his life, experiences in the infinite hell included.

"If that is the case, then do not worry yourself, I will neither judge nor abandon you"

Her words could've been considered touching if it weren't for the fact that Kamijou as fully aware he was being teased and played with.

"Do you enjoy my suffering?"

Kamijou asked completely deadpan, fully knowing the answer already but he at least wanted to hope.

"Yes"

Othinus replied instantly with a sweet and honest smile on her face to which he could only sigh. He sat down and rested his back on the wall, rubbing his head to ease the pain of the bite from Index.

He let out another sigh, this time being reminded of the guilt he felt about not explaining things to the three. Othinus took notice and approached him.

"Really now, we've done this countless times yet even now you still can't help but feel such things?"

She asked as she sat between Kamijou's legs and rested her back on his body. Kamijou himself didn't mind the position since it was rather normal for them at this point.

"I have told you before, they may be real in some way but those aren't the ones you've come to know. _These are not the existences you had spent your time with nor is this the world you had lived in. _Their appearance should've told you as much"

He flinched as he heard her tone. It wasn't the first time he had received this particular lecture and he could only be amazed at how Othinus wasn't tired of giving it to him by now. Though that could probably be attributed to the fact that she perfectly understood how he felt.

"Index had black hair…"

He muttered as he recalled the differences in the nun's appearance. Of course it wasn't the only difference that they were able to find. Things like the position of objects in his dorm room, speech pattern of some of the more eccentric people he knew and the underwear of choice for the sisters could also be observed.

No matter what happened, even if his memory was to once again be erased, he would be absolutely sure that Misaka imouto should not be wearing black and lacy adult-like underwear that could easily kill someone with blood loss via nosebleed. A certain Shirai Kuroko was proof of that.

"Haah… so this isn't world isn't the right one either"

Kamijou let out another sigh, he was a bit tired from hopping through the many layers of reality they went through.

The world should've been restored to its original state when he left the use of Imagine Breaker into Othinus' hands. However due to interference from beings _unknown even to Othinus herself, _instead of stripping off the many layers of reality that Othinus had created, it was instead turned into a large convoluted mess of realities where many different possibilities were combined like patchwork.

The differences from the 'original' world could range from something as minor as someone wearing an accessory they shouldn't be wearing or even a change of hair color to something major like Aogami Pierce had taken over the world and made every girl as part of his harem.

It took a lot of effort to believe that that last one was even within the realms of possibility.

He then recalled how Othinus had explained the situation to him.

==_[Flashback]==_

"Think of it this way. When I had completed Gugnir I was able to change the world at will. If the original world could be a considered as a pure white canvas, I had used my powers as a magic god to create different worlds by covering the canvas with a layer of whatever color I desired."

Othinus brought out a blank canvas and some paint. They were currently in an art room in Kamijou's school. There was no one around to interfere with them due to the barrier Othinus had put up.

"If I had been able to use Imagine Breaker at the time properly and _without_ interference, then I would have been able to completely return the canvas to its original unpainted state. Imagine Breaker is a reference point, an anchor of reality that could normalize fluctuations from the natural state and hence should have reversed the changes but…"

She took out a brush and opened the cans of paint. She then began painting an even layer of red on the whole canvas and waited a few seconds for it to dry. It was yet another innovation of Academy city, paint that dried almost instantly.

"It had instead lead us to the current situation. Imagine Breaker was unable to restore the world as a whole. You can think of it as only removing parts of the paint on the canvas instead of all of it. Now that itself wouldn't have cause the convoluted mess of realities we are currently going through but you must understand that in order for this world to function, _logic and reason must be followed_. For every effect, there _must_ be a cause that exists that created it"

She began applying layer after layer of paint, making sure that only one even layer of color is applied every time.

"If a result was achieved then there should've have been something that had been done to achieve it. If your leg for example was injured then there should've been an event or situation that leads to it getting injured. Similarly a chair cannot exist if there wasn't someone who had gathered the materials and spent time to actually build it"

She then opened the drawer and obtained a palette knife.

"Now we get to the crux of the problem. What Imagine Breaker had done was to erase the changes _only partially_. Both the causes and effects existed but Imagine Breaker was only able to erase _some of the causes or events and not the effects themselves_. The reverse is also true, the effects were erased but the causes were not but right now it is impossible to determine which occurred or if both had happened."

She then put away the paint cans and the brushes. Kamijou, despite the seriousness of the situation, momentarily wished that she would show that level of consideration towards him. He shook his head shortly after and paid attention to what Othinus was saying.

"The former would mean that your leg is left injured but the events that caused it were erased. The latter would mean you were involved in an accident that had most certainly did something to you but the effects themselves were erased. The world cannot continue functioning if things were left in such a way and _hence it had to draw upon other possibilities_ from the other realities I had created in order to rationalize and consolidate the causes and effects"

She then brought the canvas to the table he was leaning on and positioned it upright to show the thick layer of paint on the canvas. It was like looking at a rainbow when one looked at the side of the canvas.

"Going back to the paint and canvas analogy should help you understand. Every time I changed the world I would paint the whole canvas in one color. The first time I did it I painted all of it red, the second time I painted over it with blue, so on and so forth. I had changed the world so many times that a thick and uniform layer of paint is already on the canvas"

She then took the knife and began to chip away some parts of the layers. Kamijou figured that the palette knife symbolized his Imagine Breaker.

"Imagine Breaker removed some parts of it. It punched holes into the layers, some shallow, some deep, some only at the sides and some in other random places. However in order for the world to remain functioning, it needed to patch up the wholes and gaps in its layers. Since there was no other place to get material from, it took the paint of other layers to fill in the gaps. Now what was originally a layer of pure red paint is now a mix of several different other colors. The same is true for every other layer on the canvas"

She then took the pieces of the chipped off paint from the table and placed in the wholes and gaps she made, making sure that a different color was placed on a particular layer.

"This is also the reason for my current condition. The world we are currently in makes it so that the event that had lead into me getting hit by Ollerus' spell did not exist since the battle had yet to happen. Unlike you who cannot be affected due to being the wielder of Imagine Breaker, I on the other hand am. I am able to retain all my memories due to being the one to create the realities and use the power of Imagine Breaker but I am not exempt from the changes it makes"

_==[Flashback]==_

"Haaahh… such misfortune... If only we could use your power to resolve all of this…"

He spoke his catchphrase with a bit of trepidation. Though there was that option, it wasn't something that they could rely on.

"Though I do still have power, the problem would be the fact that I am still in the state of encompassing _every possibility_ and hence I have an equal amount of failure as I do in succeeding… so if we were to gamble then I could just as easily destroy this world as much as I have the chance of fixing it, even with the use of your Imagine Breaker"

Othinus spoke as she made herself comfortable in her position. The current reality they were in wasn't the first and they were sure that it was also not the last reality they have to traverse in order to reach the original world.

They were essentially stranded in the many layers of realities together. He had actually lost track of exactly how long they've been doing this but he was rather thankful there was someone there to help him out through all of it.

If he were to be optimistic about it, it was like going on a long and epic adventure with Othinus as his heroine like those RPG and adventure games they've played though considering the things they have gone through, that view was technically true.

"… If there are many layers of paint on the canvas it simply means we have to slowly chip away every single one until we are left with the original blank canvas…"

He recited the words Othinus had once said to him after finishing her explanation. Since they could not rely on Othinus' powers in fear of the failure and they had not been able to rely on something like Gugnir they had no choice but to take the slow path.

The only consolation was that fact that no matter what happened, no matter what world he would chance upon, no matter how different it was from the world he knew, there would always be one other person in every world that would always be able to understand and help him.

"Hey Othinus, wanna go and take a break for a bit?"

He asked. There wasn't really any point in rushing, if they went all out and kept going without rest then even they would break from the stress.

"Yes, let's try out that beach you've gone to. I always had wanted to try on those strange swimsuits provided by Academy City"

Othinus let out a small smile and both of them stood up and made continued on.

Neither knew how long it would take to return to Kamijou Touma's world but both of them were perfectly content with the peace they had right now.

**==[Stranded Together]==  
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**A/N:  
>So what did you think of it?<strong>

**I had done my utmost best in keeping the characterization of all the characters involved as close to cannon as possible but I'm not entirely confident. My knowledge of the Indexverse is essentially limited to memory and some info from the wiki. I also did my best to keep the premise of this story as believable as possible though that is also something I'm not confident about.**

**In the case that anyone actually like this story and would like to know whether it would be continued then the answer would be yes, I will update a this only when I get good enough ideas.**

**Truth be told I have no real idea on the specifics of how they managed to get into the situation and how they would actually get out. I never really planned on a set story for this one... so it would be better to treat it as a collection of short stories or omakes involving Touma and Othinus.**


	2. Diary Entry 1: The Beginning

**It seems this story had actually gotten quite a bit of attention while I was away (I had been horribly busy this past month) and now that I have free time I can actually put out a chapter**

Thank you for all your reviews and suggestions! Know that I read every single one and had considered them as well.

As I had said in the first chapter... I didn't really have any concrete plans for this one so I needed to think quite a bit of how I'll show the events that had lead up to there as suggested in the review. After some thinking... well this is the result

**Disclaimer: I do not own To Aru Majutsu no Index and its wonderful cast of characters. I do not profit from this work at all. Really.****  
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This chapter should show you what had happened between the two right after the events of volume 9 and leading to the premise of the fic. It should also show you how I characterize Othinus and more importantly, how she views Touma in her mind.**  
><strong>  
>You can treat this as the actual prologue of the story while the first chapter was 'In medias res'.<p>

_**Special thanks for the editor of this chapter, Negame**_

**===Stranded Together===**

**======Othinus=======**

_It truly was ridiculous. _

_That honestly was the only way I could describe it when I look back on everything._

_I sought out to find my home, the real one that had not been obscured by the changes I've made, using whatever means necessary. I sought power and succeeded in gaining it through dubious means. I gathered resources, created an organization, gathered subordinates with false promises and overcame every obstacle that came my way._

_Except for one…_

_Kamijou Touma, it was a name that would forever be engraved in my mind, body and soul._

_It was the name of the man who fought against me despite the astronomical odds against him. _

_It was the name of the man that kept going in that infinite hell despite the countless times I had broken him._

_It was the name of the single existence in the world that kept standing up against god when everyone else couldn't._

_and…_

_It was the name of the only existence that understood me…_

_I can't remember when was the last time I had needed to write down my thoughts just to organize it… I recall when I had still been a human child that I would always keep a small piece of paper for whenever I would feel overwhelmed so I could organize my thoughts and calm myself._

_Really now… that idiot… making me like this again…_

_From here on in are the thoughts that have plagued my mind since the start… memories that will most likely stay with me for eternity_

**===Stranded Together===**

It was a strange feeling I had. I was able to finally triumph and defeat him, the single obstacle left against my plans.

Yet there was no feeling of elation.

I held what remained of his body and looked at him as he tried to speak. I waited for the words that every other human would speak.

I thought he wanted revenge, I thought he wanted to say the last words to convince me to bring back his world… yet…

"_If you knew that, why did you challenge me?"_

"_I thought I could reach you."_

Those words stunned me into silence. I couldn't truly grasp the meaning… or it was better to say I refused to grasp it despite it being so obvious.

"_But nothing is left for you now. You have simply lost. The world you wished for will never arrive again."_

I answered to him, trying to dispel any other possibility. I wanted him to admit the fact that he had done everything he did for the sake of his own justice.

"…_That's fine."_

Yet his reply simply brought me to silence once again. I could only look at him as he slowly lost the remaining strength left in his body as I raced through the unnecessary thoughts that were entering my head. I asked what reasons or motives he could have had for continuing to fight but before my thoughts came to a conclusion he asked her a wish.

For a moment, I thought he would wish for the happiness of those he loved but then again I was proven wrong.

"_Make good use of this.__"_

"…_?"_

"_My right hand. I was only able to use it for fights, but you must know a better way to use it. You can use it as the reference point for the world that Ollerus mentioned."_

I was indignant for a moment, taken aback by the thought that I would actually restore the world according to his views. I found such wishes meaningless and had no qualms in revealing my thoughts.

"_The battle is over, so it's fine. Use this and take back your world; take back your first hope."_

Yet when I had finally thought he would insist on bringing back his own world out of selfishness, he then proceeded to give me the one thing that could've granted the goal I've been pursuing.

"_Do you think that isn't necessary because you can create an identical world from the ground up? You think it's the same as returning to your original world because no one can tell the difference? …That's wrong, Othinus. Even if no one else knows and the world is filled with smiles, it will be nothing but a tragedy as long as__you__know the difference."_

He followed with those words, words that I knew far too well. I've looked long and hard for any means, any method I could've used to bring back the original world that I had come from but failed every time. I could only keep adding layers to the reality, fixing and tweaking it as I remembered but it was never enough.

I knew. I knew that it wasn't my world and so I was never satisfied.

It irritated me that someone thought they had the right to say those. It irritated me that someone could possibly even think they understood how that truly felt.

If it was anyone else, I would have already erased that person but deep inside myself, I knew…

I knew Kamijou Touma understood that pain like I did.

He spoke his last words as he did a pitiful attempt at stroking my cheek, challenging me to be selfish, to act the way I wanted in order to achieve whatever goal I may have. The next second, that arm that had almost reached me had fallen and he stopped moving.

At that moment, Kamijou Touma had truly died.

"_Oh…" _

It was the only word that could escape my lips. As I looked at his dead body, I could only feel one thing.

Loneliness.

It didn't matter if I could recreate the world; it didn't matter if I could bring the Kamijou Touma himself back to life without fail.

I wanted to find my way back to the world I knew... the world I was born in, the world I grew up in… but when I thought long and hard, I couldn't go beyond that thought.

If I did succeed, then what? In that world, what was waiting for me? What did I have to gain from that world?

Those questions plagued my mind; I didn't know when it was that my goal had stopped making sense but when I truly searched for an answer, only one thing came to me.

"_Did I want him to understand?" _

"_Did I want someone who understands me?"_

I couldn't help but feel idiotic.

When I thought about it, there was no one in my original world that would've probably been able to understand me and the things I've gone through and the only existing person who had gone through the same thing, who could understand the pain I had felt, had died by my own hand.

His words had made me understand this. It was a truly cruel and merciless attack. I could only really laugh at myself if I had the will to do so.

Now I was left with a choice: to restore my world or his.

Really now. At that point, it wasn't even a question.

…

…

…

_**At that point I made a decision… though at the time I was mistaken. I wasn't alone at all… in fact it was likely I was being observed…**_

**===Stranded Together===**

I really shouldn't have been surprised when he chose to stand by my side.

When we had come back to his world, the moment before I had originally destroyed it, he didn't hesitate to protect me. I'm quite sure the entire world was dumbfounded by his actions but there was no real way for them to understand him.

I didn't put any effort into dissuading him since I had seen firsthand how utterly stubborn he was. There was no point convincing someone that was willing to die millions of times to reach out to someone. That would simply be completely pointless.

I had no illusion I could truly be saved, not with the sins I've committed but… even then I couldn't help but go along with him.

In complete honesty, I wanted to simply make it last a bit longer. It was a final act of selfishness on my part… I wanted to spend even a bit more time with the only one who could understand me.

So I indulged his wishes… I knew how cruel it was to put him in harm's way because of my selfishness but a part of me knew he would forgive me for what I was doing and what I planned to do.

After all, in that infinite hell, I had also gained an understanding of him that far surpasses anyone else who knew him.

He had told me, challenged me to be selfish and do what I want, hence I would do so without anymore hesitation. I would live the fantasy that had only existed in my dreams.

Even if it would never lead to anything, even if it would never last, if I could live it for even a few more moments then I could die with a smile on my face and say I was truly happy.

**===Stranded Together===**

After a few arguments I had used the Bone Boat to rotate the planet in order to bring ourselves to our target since the idiot had no real plan for us to follow. Being the god that I am I had told him that despite our predicament there actually was a sliver of hope to save me.

Our target was the spring of Mimir where my eye could be found. If I had the eye I had once sacrificed then I could return to being human, invalidating Ollerus' fairy spell.

He had embraced me out of happiness upon hearing those words.

The sensation had been so foreign to me that I couldn't help but push him away. Most existences feared my presence itself and would never dare get close. I could barely remember the last I had received close physical contact that didn't involve a battle of sorts.

Really who did he think he was embracing me out of nowhere?

He was rather laidback as well considering the situation but it was something I could easily understand. He treated me like a close friend and talked to me casually. We exchanged playful jabs at each other and engaged in some banter.

We acted like we weren't being pursued by the combined forces of the world. We went along in our little adventure, always finding time to tease one another when we could.

It was truly enjoyable.

I would've preferred if we weren't being chased by every organization but I at least had the confidence that we could handle whatever would come.

After all, even though my body continued to degenerate each passing moment, I was still the one who reached godhood and manipulated the world while he was the man who overcame god herself by sheer force of will.

I knew for a fact how much of a disadvantage we were in… but even then I could confidently say that his presence alone gave us a good chance of succeeding in the goal I had set up.

…

…

…

_**It had probably been due to my dying body or maybe the distraction that his company had provided but it had taken me a while to notice the inconsistencies that the world had developed. **_

**===Stranded Together===**

_Academy City and the advancements in technology they presented._

_The Roman Catholic Church and the collective will of its millions of followers._

_The Russian Orthodox Church. _

_The combined might of the saints. _

_The former members of Gremlin._

_The American military and Kamijou Touma's comrades._

They were the enemies we had been made to face. The odds were truly stacked against us but as I had expected, the man who stood by my side was able to take a step forward and keep walking as he pushed through adversity, not only overcoming the enemies but letting them become our allies as well.

However as we moved forward we began to notice the inconsistencies and errors.

_The number one esper that Academy city had sent was __**female.**_

_The Roman Catholic Church included the __**Amakusas**__ in their ranks._

_The saints were lead by Princess __**Villian**__ carrying the curtana. _

_The one who attempted to use the fake Gugnir with the help of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum was __**Patricia Birdway**__._

There had probably been more that had escaped our notice but those were the most glaring ones. Both of us had been perturbed by the change but we had no choice but to continue on.

Yet as we progressed it seemed more inconsistencies had come forth. Changes occurred at random the closer we approached to our destination.

It was when he had defeated Almighty Thor that I had understood the possible reason for the world's condition.

The mayhem, the chaos, the errors and inconsistencies…

I caused all of them and if I kept on prolonging the current state of affairs then it was likely that the single existence I wanted to preserve may not be able to go back.

Then and there I decided… that it was time I ended everything.

…

…

…

_**I couldn't be saved… no, I had no right to be saved. That was the conclusion I had reached at the time. The boy did everything he could to save me and that had truly made me happy… however the more I relied on him the more damage I did to him and the world around him.**_

_**Of course… I wasn't truly aware of the real cause at that time however I believe my actions held merit regardless. **_

**===Stranded Together===**

I wasn't running away like he thought. It the only one to be affected was myself then I would have gladly turned myself back into human and faced the consequences of my action.

However if I did so then he would be caught up in the fallout. He had stood by my side, fought against the world, and supported me would've been surely viewed as a criminal for aiding the greatest evil.

There was no way I could or would allow such a thing to happen.

My life and happiness didn't matter. I deserved death and whatever fate for the sins I've committed but the existence called Kamijou Touma had done no wrong…

… and I would make that absolutely clear to all of them.

I once again brought out the crossbow that had taken him down and prepared my shot. It was something capable of destroying a planet, something Kamijou Touma knew better than anyone else.

Of course… he ran towards her regardless. He charged, his eyes burning with determination, and faced all ten shots.

He had most likely been afraid. He had most likely been reminded of the deaths he had experienced from the very same weapon… but I knew he would keep going no matter what.

I couldn't help but smile as drew closer, not even hesitating as he faced down the final arrow, the one that had ended the battle between us. He clenched his fist and punched it with all his might.

_He succeeded._

Every bit of strength I had left seemed to escape me as he pulled me into an embrace. It was only for a moment but my body was able to regain its senses.

_It had felt warm._

I smiled satisfied with the result. I was saved. Despite everything that had happened, despite everything I had done, he had still went through and saved me.

_I was truly happy. Happy that everything had finally come to an end_

…

…

…

_**Yet even then the world refused to give me that end. **_

**===Stranded Together===**

***BZZZZZZZZZZT***

As I was held in his embrace the world seemed to blur.

***BZZZZZZZZT***

"E-eh…?"

He let out as both of us looked around to see what was happening.

***KSSSSHHHHHHH***

All around us was static. It was like watching television with horrible reception as everything in sight seemed to be unable to hold its existence.

***BZZZZZZZZT***

Sounds of loud static grew louder as the ground and sky themselves were crumbling.

"W-what's happening?!"

"I… don't know…"

For the first time in a long time I had been dumbfounded. I had neither had a real grasp of the true state of things nor the actual cause. I thought that my end would dispel the inconsistencies…

***KSSSSHHHHHHH***

***BZZZZZZZZT***

He held me tight, making sure not to let go. I had no power left and was slowly fading away while he was far too injured at this point to even do anything.

***GOGOGOGOGOGO***

"OTHINUUUUSSS!"

He shouted my name as large earthquake occurred and the ground below us broke apart. We were thrown away from each other but he had stubbornly held on to my hand.

I wanted to tell him to let go but I had no strength left to even speak.

***GASSHAAN***

***GASSHAAN***

Everything around us shattered into tiny particles and swirled madly like a storm.

"HOLD ON!"

He kept shouting to her. She could barely hear his voice due to the vortex of particles that seemed to be storming around them.

"Gaaahhhhh?!"

The next moment they were falling as they were being carried away by the large flow of particles.

After that was darkness.

**===Stranded Together===**

**A/N: So what do you think? I wanted to badly incorporate the events of Volume 10 in order to preserve the official developments between the two. This is basically Volume 11 in the first person perspective of Othinus with some of the additions that leads up to the premise of this fic.**

You can treat this as diary entries made by Othinus... whether I'll do one again in the future is undecided...

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if it isn't too much trouble, please leave a review.


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